EASTHAMPTON -- The Finance Subcommittee has signed off on a $1.4 million override for the schools, leaving it up to the City Council and the public to weigh in on the subject.

The subcommittee voted 3-0 in favor of the $1,407,456 Proposition 2 1/2 override at its meeting on Monday. The School Department requested the money, which would be in addition to the $15 million it is due to receive under Mayor Michael Tautznik's budget. According to Finance Subcommittee member Daniel Hagan, $800,000 of the override would make up the difference between Tautznik's budget and the amount the School Department will need to avoid layoffs. Another $585,000 is targeted for new programs and technology upgrades.

The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the matter on July 11. Even if the override is approved on the November ballot, the School Department will have to adhere to its current budget and lay off employees in the early fall.

School Superintendent Nancy Follansbee said the School Committee worked hard on its budget. It had asked for $17.8 million to deliver services on a par with the previous fiscal year.

"We were thoughtful and careful in looking at what our needs were," she said.

Without the additional funds, the School Department will have to eliminate six teaching positions and a custodial job, in addition to cutting expenses for books and other materials, Follansbee said. The override would restore that money and also allow the schools to implement new programs and upgrade their technology.

Proposition 2 1/2 overrides allow communities to increase property taxes above the 2 1/2 percent per year limit prescribed by state law. Those increases become a permanent part of the tax base.

In 2010, voters approved a $17.7 million debt exclusion to borrow money for the new high school. That tax will come off the rolls when the debt is retired. The last permanent override in Easthampton was in 2004, when voters approved a $2 million override.